Kids Halloween Party Ideas

In addition to lots of Halloween games and Halloween party games, we have ideas for your school Halloween party, food, invitations and decorations.

Kids Halloween Party Invitations

Make your own invitations by cutting out a shape of a bat, pumpkin or ghost and writing the details on the back or on the inside.

Visit our party store for Halloween invitations you can purchase along with other items to go with your kids Halloween party ideas!

Kids Halloween Party Dinner Ideas

Serving a child food at a Halloween party for kids is fun because you can really let your imagination go wild! Some of our favorite kids Halloween party ideas for food include: mummy dogs and fun Halloween cakes.

Decorations for Kids Halloween Parties

When decorating, remember that some kids don’t like the scary Halloween stuff! Unless you know your guests well enough to know what will or won’t bother them, plan to use fun decorations that aren’t so scary…spider webs, pumpkins, cute ghosts, etc. One of the best parts of planning which kids Halloween party ideas you'll use is deciding on decorations!

School Halloween Party Ideas

If you are planning a Halloween School Party or Carnival, you have come to the right place. You can use several of our kids Halloween party ideas and Halloween games for school parties, whether you are planning an elementary school Halloween party or your Halloween school parties are part of a school carnival. Use our kids Halloween party ideas, and if you have something special to tell us about, please share your kids Halloween party ideas and Halloween school party ideas with us!

Young Children's Halloween Party

Planning a Preschool Halloween party, Halloween baby party or Halloween party for a toddler? We have some ideas for baby thru preschool age, specific kids Halloween party ideas picked for this age group.

Halloween Party Games for Kids

Apple Race - You’ll need an apple for each player. Players race on hands and knees while pushing apples with their noses to the finish line.

Balloon Pop – Try this as an alternative to a Pinata. Before the party, blow up lots of orange and black balloons, but inside each balloon insert a small piece of candy or halloweeen toy. Toss the balloons out into the group of players and let each child pop one. The item inside is their prize or treat. If you are using this as one of your kids Halloween party ideas, remember that balloons are a choking hazard for small children.

Balloon Stuffing Game – If your guests don’t come in costume, this is a fun game to play. Before the party, blow up lots of orange and black balloons. Divide players into teams, with one person on each team putting on a large sweatshirt or sweatsuit. On “Go”, both teams try to stuff their sweatsuit as full of balloons as possible.

Balloon Sweep Relay – You’ll need an orange or black balloon for each team and a broom. Divide players into teams. On “Go”, have them run a relay race by sweeping the balloon around the course and back to the next player for a turn.

Bean Bag Toss – Toss bean bags thru a haunted house window (made out of a refrigerator box), a witch’s mouth, or into a pumpkin (use a plastic halloween pumpkin).

Bobbing for Apples - In a large bucket or container, float apples in water. Players try to grab an apple, using only their teeth! Another version of this game is to try to eat a donut, hanging from string, using only their teeth. One of the true classic kids Halloween party ideas!

Bobbing for Worms – who bobs for apples when you can bob for worms? Place a worm on a paper plate (one plate for each player), and then cover with lots of whipped cream. Have players find the gummy worm(s) while keeping their hands behind their backs! One of the great (and messy) kids Halloween party ideas!

Build a Scarecrow – Hide supplies for making a scarecrow around the party area, and on “Go” teams must run to find the items they need and build their scarecrow. The first team to build one wins!

Candy Corn Guess – Fill a jar with candy corn and let everyone guess how many pieces are inside. The player with the closest guess wins! Not just for kids Halloween party ideas, but great for any age.

Candy Corn Hunt – Before the game hide candy corn everywhere. Divide players into teams and select one player from each team to be the “rooster”, while the other players are the “hens”. The hens search for the candy corn, and when they find it must “cluck” to get the roosters to come pick up the corn. Only the roosters can pick up corn. The team with the rooster that has collected the most corn within two minutes wins! This is one of those kids Halloween party games that can be played for other party themes, such as a farm party, animal party, etc. Hilarious!

Candy Corn Toss – You’ll need: a timer, candy corn, and two plastic trick-or-treak pumpkins. Divide your guests into teams. Have each team stand behind a line drawn on the ground, and place a trick-or-treat pumpkin for each team a short distance away. On “Go” each team tries to toss candy corn into the pumpkin. Whichever team gets the most candy in the pumpkin in two minutes wins! Another variation is to have a team member hold the pumpkin and try to catch as much candy corn as possible.

Dr. Frankenstein – Have party guests create their own monster. Give them a large sheet of butcher paper or construction paper, along with markers, crayons, etc. A fun variation for older kids is to have players create their own monster from pictures they cut out of magazines. Another one of our kids Halloween party ideas is to have the child lay down on the butcher paper, trace around them, and have them draw the monster on area traced.

Floating Pumpkins – Before the party, blow up lots of orange balloons. Pass them out at the party and let the children try to keep them in the air without touching the ground! Have some extra blown up in case some get popped right away.

Freeze Dance – Play freeze dance while dancing to Halloween themed music. To play, everyone dances while music plays! When the music stops, everyone freezes. Lots of fun at a Halloween kid party.

Ghost Bingo – make your own Bingo cards, but instead of numbers, put Halloween images on the cards: a black cat, a ghost, a bat, a witch, a broom, a pumpkin, etc. Have someone draw for images (instead of numbers), use candy corn or candy pumpkins as markers, and when someone gets a bingo, yell “boo!” One of our great kids Halloween party ideas that works for adults as well.

The Ghost Catcher – You’ll need a pumpkin, a blindfold, and colored stickers ( a different color for each team). To play, select one player to be the “ghost catcher” and divide the remaining players into teams. The team with the red stickers will be the “red ghosts”, the team with the orange stickers will be the “orange ghosts”, etc. Each player on the each team should have a sticker in the color of their team. Set the pumpkin and the blind-folded Ghost Catcher in the middle of the room, with the other players around them. On “Go”, the ghosts will try to silently get close enough to the pumpkin to put a sticker on it. But if the Ghost Catcher hears a sound, he should point in the direction of the sound and say “Stop Ghost!” The team that puts all their stickers on the pumpkin first wins!

Ghost Hunt - Cut small ghosts out of white paper and hide around the party area. Let players find a set number of ghosts per person. You can also play with candy pumpkins, candy corn, spider rings, etc.

Ghost Waiter - You’ll need an orange or black balloon and a paper plate for each team. Divide players into teams. On “Go”, have players run a relay race by carrying the balloon on the plate around the course.

Halloween Candy Science Fun - What to do with all that halloween candy? How about some fun halloween candy science experiments. Try soaking different types of candy in water, soda, or different liquids to see what happens to them. Or try melting them to see what happens. You'll find that some candies dissolve, some bubble, and some float!

Halloween Charades – Play this just like charades, but with Halloween items (witch, cat, monster, etc.)

Halloween Musical Corners - You’ll need a dice for this game. Normally you would designate six spaces in your party area as space #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. But for a Halloween party you could designate one corner as the pumpkins, one as the ghosts, etc. While music is playing, have the kids run around the party area. When the music stops, the kids should move to one of the six spaces. Roll the dice, and the kids at the corresponding dice must do some action, such as 10 jumping jacks, running in place for 10 seconds, etc. This popular kids Halloween party ideas game is often played at gymnastics center birthday parties and is a great game for a large group of kids.

Halloween Telephone - Have players sit in a circle. The first player will whisper a spooky message to the player sitting next to him. This player will whisper the message to the next player, and so on. The last player in the circle will say the message out loud…and it is usually very different from how it started!

Halloween Who Am I? - Play the who am I? game, but with Halloween characters.

Halloween Word Scramble, Mazes, Crossword Puzzles – Have some of these at your party for an arrival activity or for a quiet activity.

Hangman - Great game for two players or a room full of players! Great for a Halloween Slumber Party too!

Monster Monster Game – One player is the monster, and stands at one end of the yard. The kids are at the other end of the yard. The kids yell together, “Monster, Monster, are you hungry?” to which the monster will say “No, not really, come closer”. The kids will all come a little closer and ask the question again. This happens over and over, until the monster finally answers “Yes”! At this point he tries to catch as many children as possible and they become monsters too. The game starts over, with the new monsters on one side of the yard and the other kids at the other side of the yard. Fun!! One of our favorites!!

Mr. Hal O’Ween’s Body Parts - This game goes by many names, but the general idea is the same. No Halloween kids party games list is complete without it! You can have the guests sit in a circle in a darkened room to pass the “body parts” around so everyone gets a feel, or you can let guests feel one at a time inside boxes (without looking). Afterwards let kids try to guess what they are touching. Some ideas:Hair - yarnBrains - cooked spaghettiEyeballs - grapes Teeth - popcorn kernelsTongue - Banana sliceFingers - carrotsFingernails - almond slivers

Mummy Wrapping Game – A favorite kid Halloween party game! Divide players into teams. Give each team a supply of toilet paper and on “Go” have them wrap up a team member like a mummy. After the designated time, call a winner!

Pass the Spider Game - Before the party, tie a Plastic Spider to a ball of black yarn. Make sure you have one for each team. At the party, divide your guests into two or more teams and have them line up in a straight line. The object is to be the first team to be tied together by the “spider web.” On the word “go” the first person in the line must pass the spider up one sleeve, across their chest; down the other sleeve to the next person keep the string in their clothing. The next person does the same thing until every team member is tied together. The first team done wins!

Pin the ….nose on the scarecrow, nose on the pumpkin, stem on the pumpkin, nose on the witch, hat on the witch, tail on the cat…you get the idea!

Scarecrow Relay – This is played just like the suitcase relay game, but instead you’ll need scarecrow clothes - a hat, shirt and pants or overalls.

Skeleton Puzzle Race - Purchase a cardboard skeleton for each team and separate the pieces before the party. Have the teams race to lay out the skeleton with correct placement.

Spider Web Maze - Test the players' teamwork as they try to untangle their strands of yarn to get to their prizes. This is sometimes also called a String Maze. You’ll need several skeins of yarn in different colors. This is very time consuming to set up but fun to do for a Halloween kid party! You’ll need to set it up in an area away from the rest of your party, because you won’t be able to use this area at all until the string hunt is over. To set up, make a starting point for a string of yarn. Then thread the yarn all over the available area. Loop around, over and under objects, with a note or prize at the end. Create a string of yarn that loops around for each player. You don’t have to have a different color of yarn for each player, but it is nice to at least have a few different colors to help players be able to tell their strings apart from each other.

Spider Web – You’ll need a ball of yarn. Have players stand in a circle. Toss the ball of yarn to one player, who holds onto a piece of yarn and then throws the ball of yarn to another player. Continue over and over until everyone is holding some yarn. You will have created a spider web!

Spoon Relay – Adapt the old egg in a spoon relay to your kids Halloween party ideas and games list. You’ll need a spoon and ping pong ball for each team (before the party color it to look like an eyeball). Divide players into teams. On go, have players run a relay race while carrying the “eyeball” on a spoon. You can also use candy corn in the spoon, or small candy pumpkins.

Spider Race - Have players sit down, put their arms behind them and walk to a finish line. (This position is usually known as a “crab walk”). You can also run this race as a relay. Great kids Halloween party ideas or for a party anytime.

Spooky Walk – Played like a cake walk…place numbered pumpkin shapes on the ground in a circle and play music while everyone walks on the shapes. When the music stops, draw a number and the person standing on that number wins a prize. It could be a cupcake, piece of candy, or any Halloween treat! Play until everyone gets a turn to win. Great option when you need Halloween party games for children of all ages.

Tell a Spooky Story - Sit in a circle and let the host tell a story. They’ll start with a sentence to get the story rolling. Then the next person in the circle will tell what happened next in one sentence. Go around the circle 3 times to complete the story! (with a small group you may want to go around the circle more times than that)! The age of the group will determine how spooky and scary stories for kids Halloween party ideas should get.

Treasure Hunt Version #1 – This works basically like searching for Easter eggs. While the children are distracted, have a helper hide the objects they’ll need to find around your party site. If you hide them before the party they can sometimes be found and moved or played with, making them impossible to find when the time comes. Show the kids what the object that they will be looking for looks like and then have them go collecting! You might specify “one per kid”, or “three per kid”. That way one child won’t take a bunch, leaving none for another child to find. Always hide a few extra for those that are hard to find. Fun Kids Halloween party ideas for kids large and small and good for mixed age group activities.

Treasure Hunt Version #2 - For the older kids Halloween party ideas list…the sky is the limit for a more elaborate treasure hunt! Perhaps search for a treasure that has been taken by a witch or monster…

Truth or Dare – Before the party, insert pieces of paper with age appropriate truth or dares on them inside black and orange balloons. Blow up the balloons and at the party give each child a balloon. Have them pop, one at a time, and then tell the truth or do the dare, as listed. We’ve already come up with some great (and safe!) questions and dares for a truth or dare game.Use them as part of your Kids Halloween Party Ideas!

Who’s the Ghost? - You’ll only need a sheet for this game. Divide players into two teams. One team goes into another room and places the sheet over one of the players heads (they are now the “ghost”). The ghost re-enters the room. The other team gets to guess who the ghost is.

Witches’ Cauldron - Fill a witches’ cauldron with Styrofoam peanuts and small prizes. Have players reach in a pull out a prize. If you are adding this to your kids Halloween party ideas list, and you have older players (tweens or teens), put some "surprises" in there - gooey eyeballs, that sort of thing!

More Halloween Party Ideas for Kids

Do Halloween Crafts – Decorate Pumpkins with paints, markers or stickers. Or make ghosts, bats or spiders!

Adapt a Halloween Party into a Birthday party, or build your favorite theme into a Halloween Party – such as a Pirate Halloween Party or Harry Potter Halloween Party.

Don’t forget your Halloween party favors!

Halloween Slumber Party Games and Activities

At any slumber party you can do crafts, and there are lots of Halloween crafts to choose from. And a Halloween slumber party wouldn’t be complete unless you watch movies! Here are some of our favorite kids Halloween party ideas movies(select a movie based on the age of your friends):

Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

E.T.

Casper

Roxy Hunter and the Moody Ghost Mystery

Nancy Drew

Harry Potter

Wizard of Oz

Beetlejuice

Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf

The Haunted Mansion

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Halloweentown

Hocus Pocus

Ghostbusters

Pirates of the Caribbean (not really a Halloween movie, but there is spooky stuff…)If you don't wear your costumes, have a "spooky" makeover party and make everyone over into something fun (Make up one person as a clown, one as a princess, or go with all spooky characters!)

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